


Out of the frying pan

by Evilkat23



Series: Out of the frying pan [1]
Category: Drachenreiter | Dragon Rider - Cornelia Funke
Genre: Very little Ben/Twigleg, it won't shine till the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-08
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-04-08 06:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4294323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evilkat23/pseuds/Evilkat23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone or something wants Ben and nobody knows about it, and is willing to use Twigleg to get him. So, when Ben wakes up one morning to find Twigleg human in almost all aspects they know that they have to do something to turn him back, but as times progresses Twigleg realized that maybe he doesn't want to go back to being small.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Benjamin Greenbloom has aged well over the seven years, Twigleg noticed, ever since he's lived with his adopted family, he's grown a lot taller, a bit more plumper, not by much, but, enough to show that he was definitely more healthier than when he was ten. According to his adoptive mother, Vita, he wasn't even a beanpole he was so skinny. He was also a lot happier, and he wasn't the only one, his sister, Guinevere was happier with him there and of course there was Twigleg. The little homunculus in Ben's pocket.

They all have seen Firedrake and Sorrel once or twice over the seven years, with each visit, Ben notices that dragon and Brownie that changed, it was very minor things, Firedrake's horn's growing longer, his eyes always seemingly getting a new sort of spark to them, just really small things.

Hell, everyone over the years seemed to be changing in little ways, Guinevere's hair has reached well passed her back, she's pretty much forced to put it in a pony tail if they ever go out. Speaking of hair, Barnabas and Vita were actually starting to go gray in some places, Ben found it a bit funny that his adoptive father is also growing out a bit of a goatee, the stubbles of hair coming in patches of gray and orange. Vita hasn't really changed all that much, aside from the fact that her roots were, like mentioned before, turning gray but a side from that, she's been the same. The only one in the whole family who never changed in appearance was Twigleg.

Same little size, same big red hair that has never changed, never grows or turns gray, nothing. At times, the little homunculus felt a bit sadden by that fact, watching his family age in size and here he was just staying the same never to change.

It made the little homunculus wonder at times, what it would be like to age. Probably not well seeing his age at the time, still, the changes human's go through, it was amazing to Twigleg, for those three hundred years he was a slave to Nettlebrand, he's never once seen progression so fast, in fact, he's never seen the progression of aging in a human, none like these that is. He can only watch as his once 'young' master slowly turn into just 'master'...Then he'd turn into 'old' master, then...

Twigleg gave his head a vigorous shake, he didn't want to think about his master's death, who would want to think of something like that? No, he should be happy, Ben was happy and so was he, no need to think of death and such. The homunculus sighed out heavily and crossed his little legs, why didn't he feel happy?

It's not like Ben was ever forgetting him, no, Ben does all he can to spend time with Twigleg, but, with school and his after school programs, and his human friends, he hardly seems to have the time. Ben went from an awkward caterpillar at school to a rather social butterfly. One day it was staying at home and reading with Twigleg, the next, it was, not coming home till midnight from being with his friends. Was Twigleg jealous? Maybe, he didn't know really, it's not like Ben was ever leaving Twigleg in the dust, if he was gone, he'd come back with stuff for his little homunculus friend, most of the time it was library books, though sometimes he'd bring snacks. Still, it wasn't like before where Ben would lay down on the bed with a book in his hands and Twigleg would be laying on his young master's head and read along.

Still, he kept it to himself, he didn't want Ben or anybody else to pity him. Besides, this has given him a lot of time to read more and to catch up on the world as of today, he's not only learned the improved languages, but, he's also learned a bunch more history and mythology.

In fact, as of right now, that's what he was doing, sitting on the kitchen table reading today's newspaper, once he would finish with that, he'd probably read the big Greek mythology book that Ben gifted him recently, provided he have someone open it first, the cover was a bit too heavy for the homunculus to lift on his own, he had told the young master time and time again to get him paperbacks. Sometimes it seems to go one ear and out the other with him. It honestly made Twigleg just tick his tongue impatiently.

"Oh, Twigleg, you're up early." Vita commented as she walked into the kitchen, still in her night robe.

"G'morning Mrs. Greenbloom. Did you sleep well?" Twigleg asked earning a soft chuckle from the woman.

"Twigleg, you and Ben seem to have the hardest time calling us by our names. As I have told you many times, call me Vita. I mean you've been living with us for seven years now." Vita explained as she got her coffee and sat down next to Twigleg. She sipped on her coffee then let out a curious hum. "Speaking of Benjamin, is he still sleeping?"

No, him and Guinevere went to hanging out with their friends, Oh, could you open that for me? Please?" Twigleg asked, trying to change the subject as he pointed to the Greek mythology book. With a less than happy hum, Vita did as she was asked. Using her index finger to open the book.

"They didn't bring you?" Vita asked somewhat surprised at the fact.

"Oh, they couldn't, remember, I have to be a secret." Twigleg said with a shrug as he started to read the first paragraph of the book, Vita pursed her lips in slight annoyance and said,

"It doesn't mean they can't bring you. You'd have to hide, sure, but...Twigleg are you even asking if you can go?"

The homunculus swallowed hard and then looked up at the woman, the look on his tiny face was all she needed. With a heavy sigh, the woman sipped at her coffee once more.

"I'm sure if you asked, they would bring you." She told him, giving him a slight poke in the stomach with her finger.

"What fun is hiding?" He countered, she just smirked and got up from her seat.

"What fun is being alone?" She challenged him as she walked away from the kitchen, presumably to get dressed or take a shower.

Twigleg crossed his legs and frowned deeply, twiddling his little fingers, Twigleg looked up at the window and just snorted.

"I'm not alone...Am I?"

He looked back at the book and kept the frown, if he was alone then would Ben give him presents like this?

Then again, if he had company, then he wouldn't be sitting here, reading a book. No, he would be out with his young master climbing trees and talking to fairies...

Has his best friend replaced him?  
\---  
"So the little Homunculus is feeling down? Oh, how cute." A woman cooed as she paced around her lair, with a smirk on her face she briskly walked over to a cupboard and shifted through it until she found what she was looking for. It was a bottle filled, with what looked like, sand dyed a dark burgundy red. She smiled maliciously as she moved some of the 'sand' into her hand.

"This...Will change everything." She laughed loudly and looked into her kettle where an image of a forlorn Twigleg sat.

"Oh you poor little creature, what you don't know, is that you are going to hand deliver the Dragon rider to me, and soon, with the rider's body and memories, the dragons will be under my control."


	2. Chapter 2

Twigleg let out a soft hum as he let his legs dangle over the ledge of the window as he sat outside watching the fairies dance around and talk to one another. He use to sit out here with Ben and Guinevere for hours on end, telling them what the fairies were saying as the creatures would often leave dew on the grass, or dance around them. Now, it was just him, often times he heard the creatures talking amongst themselves about him. Wondering why he still sits there alone at night.

"It's just so sad isn't it?"

Twigleg jumped back in surprise, looking for the owner of the unfamiliar voice, he quickly found it. It was a woman, at least, he assumed it was a female, the voice was an indicator, but, her face and body were covered in black clothing, her face hidden behind a black hood, she had black pants, and even her hands were shrouded in black gloves. This really made Twigleg uneasy. Not only that, but, there was a certain...offness to her, it wasn't just the black clothing, it was something else, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Thinking that she was maybe talking to a fluttering fairy, he got up to hide, but he realized he was wrong when he stood up.

"Don't leave, Twigleg, sit down."

Now, he froze, she knew his name. He wanted to run, but, something, he didn't know what exactly, but something made him sit right back down on that ledge. His little heart started to hammer wildly in his chest as the woman sat right down on the ground next to him.

"Poor little Twigleg, abandoned by his beloved master, oh what's a little homunculus to do? Well, nothing. No, you can't do a damn thing but watch as Benjamin gets older and forgets all about you, you'll be just a memory to him." She sighed out melodramatically, Twigleg wanted to talk, to yell, to scream for help, but, he couldn't. Something, again he didn't know what, but, something was stopping him from doing anything aside from sitting there and blinking.

"What if I told you, I could make so Ben would have no choice but to notice you once more, to be with you, you two could be a team again, oh, I would just love that! And I'm sure you would as well."

Several alarms went off in Twigleg's head for several different reasons. She not only knows who Ben is, but it seems she knows what he is as well, and, her voice, something wasn't right with her voice. It was...echoing inside his head, twisting, turning, slowing down. Whoever this was, she wasn't human. Then it clicked, she was using magic. She gave Twigleg a spine chilling chuckle.

"I'm sure you figured it out by now. I have...abilities."

Almost like something had released him, he could talk once more.

"You're...You're a-"

He stopped, with just a snap of the woman's fingers, he was silenced.

"Shh, you see Twiggy, mind if I call you Twiggy? Doesn't matter, you won't remember. Twiggy, I like to see us as...Friends. Yeah, and friends do things for one another you know? So, friend, here's what I'm going to do for you."

She paused and scooted closer to the smaller creature, making Twigleg want to run for safety, it sent chills down his small spine, he wanted so badly to scream.

"I'm going to make it so Ben will have no choice but to start paying attention to you again. Don't worry, it won't hurt." She giggled a bit, and slowly pulled out a bag full with some red powder. She opened the baggy and paused for a second, almost like she was thinking about something, she then poured the powder into her gloved hand. "Also, you won't remember me, I need time..." She whispered to Twigleg, then with no warning, she blew the powder right into Twigleg's face.

Suddenly, Twigleg could move again, wheezing and coughing, he jumped from the ledge onto the wet grass below, gasping, he felt something change. He had to get away from the house, his mind in a panic, he fell to his boney knees and felt his head start to whirl. What was happening to him?! What did...

Slowly, his vision started to go black, he fell to the ground his limbs going numb...

"..Leg?!"

"Twi...eg!?"

Twigleg felt his nose twitch and he snorted when he felt a blade of grass wedged up in his nostril. groggily lifting his head up, he blinked the sleepiness away. Instantly, he noticed how...smaller the grass seemed to be than normal. Confused, he slowly started to lift his whole body up. What was he even doing out here? it seemed late...

"TWIGLEG!?"

That was Ben, he sounded worried beyond belief, Twigleg stood, however, his legs wobbled and quickly gave way, making him fall to his hands and knees. Something wasn't right, he felt...oddly bigger...

"TWIGLEG?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Twigleg felt his heart skip at beat, the young master hasn't sounded this worry since the fight with Nettlebrand.

"Y-Young..."

Twigleg paused and coughed, his voice felt rough and a tad hoarse, almost like he had sand shoved down his throat. Coughing roughly, he tried again.

"I-I..I'm over here...Young master."

For a moment, he feared that maybe Ben didn't hear him, but to his relief, he heard the sound of footsteps rushing through the grass. Getting to his knees Twigleg looked down, and that was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Swallowing hard, Twigleg, slowly rose to his feet, just as Ben reached him.

"Twig-Oh my!"

There was a gasp behind him, and he turned around and found himself, for the very first time, looking down at Ben. His young master had his hands to his mouth in, what seemed like, shock.

It all slowly started to click in Twigleg's head. Breathing heavily, he realized that he was taller than a blade of grass, he was taller than a fairy...he was taller than Ben...

"Twigleg?" Ben asked, seeming like he was coming out of his shock. At first, neither of them spoke, all Twigleg could do was look Ben in the eyes. As they stared at one another, Twigleg saw the realization flood over Ben's face. feeling light headed again, Twigleg put one of his hands to his head and felt his knees give away once again. Ben was quick to grab him, no longer the less than a pound homunculus, Ben had the hardest time keeping Twigleg from pretty much falling to the ground face first.

Twigleg was starting to lose consciousness once more, he saw his vision start to slow fade black again, however, before he passed out completely, he heard Ben scream out,

"PROFESSOR!"


	3. Chapter 3

Twigleg felt a groan leave this throat, something wet and cold was on his head, it was moving from his forehead down towards his cheeks. Opening his eyes, he could only focus on one thing. A person in front his face, he couldn't see this person, everything was so blurry. He noticed that the coldness was removed from his face.

"Twig...?"

He paused, he knew that voice...blinking a bit, he cleared up some of the blurriness from his vision and started to notice little things about the person, black hair, pale skin, definitely male. It didn't take long for it to click that he was looking up at Ben.

"Twigleg?" Ben asked softly, Twigleg's vision cleared fully and he groaned out again, his head starting to throb. Putting his hand to his face, he rubbed his temples, slowly he sat up, his head and vision spinning violently, he honestly felt like he was going to be sick. Gagging out, he put his hands to his head trying his hardest to just stop the spinning and nausea. "Here, lay back down." Ben breathed out, helping Twigleg gently lay back down. There was a silence between them, Ben clearly not knowing what to say about anything at the moment. Finally, swallowing a lump in his throat, Twigleg spoke,

"W-What happened to me?"

Ben gave Twigleg a confused look and seemed to think on it for a moment, then finally, he replied.

"I was hoping you knew, Twigleg, when we came back, you were already like...This...All I really know is that you seemed to have wondered off towards the wooded part of the backyard." Ben explained, he then placed something cold and wet on Twigleg's brow, it didn't take long for the, now bigger, homunculus to realize it was a soaking wet washcloth. "You have a fever, it was one of the first things Mrs. Greenbloom noticed when we carried you in, aside from the obvious that is."

"We?" Twigleg asked, confused.

"Me and the professor, you were too heavy for me to carry on my own." Ben told him simply. Twigleg wanted to respond, however, his mind started to get fuzzy once more, all he did was blink, and when he did, his young master was no longer with him. His head felt heavy and groggy, still, he managed to find the energy to slowly sit up and get a bit of a look around. At first he had no idea were he was laying, it was a bedroom of sorts, after a few minutes, it hit him, he was laying in Ben's room, everything looked so different with him staring down at things than looking up at them.

Rubbing his eyes, he groaned again, a wave of nausea hit him like a ton of bricks, when he tried to swallow down the sickness, he realized how rough his throat felt, coughing, he instinctively brought his hands up to his mouth as he coughed violently, then, he could feel it, something rise up from his throat and into his mouth, it was a gooey lump of some sort. Quickly spiting it out into the palm of his hands, he looked down at the mysterious lump.

Touching it with his thumb, he found it, to not only be wet and slimy, but to also be soft. It was a dark red color almost cherry colored. Squishing it with his thumb, he smeared it across his palm. It felt grainy almost like sand. Something about this was familiar to him, he just couldn't put his mind to it. Groaning, he used his clean hand to rub his temples as his headache started to come back.

"Twigleg?"

He blinked at the sound of the professor, looking up, he could see the worried expression on his face. Twigleg wanted to say something, he really did, but he couldn't think of anything except for one thing,

"I don't know what happened..."

Instantly the professor put his hand up, signaling Twigleg to just listen to him.

"I'm aware, Ben told me you don't remember..." The professor paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose lifting his glasses up as he did so. After a few seconds of silence he sighed out and sat down on the edge of the bed causing Twigleg to scoot a bit to the side for him. He hadn't realized how small the bed seemed till now. "This is...almost unreal, it's fascinating but strange all the same..."

Twigleg looked down at his hand, at the cherry red sand smear that was starting to dry and crumble.

"Professor...I coughed this up...It's not blood, it's some sort of sand...it's nothing I've seen before...something about it seems so familiar though." Twigleg said, his brow furrowing in confusion as he tried to place just what this stuff was. Looking at the drying smear, the professor frowned.

"If you don't know what it is...then I definitely don't know..." Barnabas confessed, he gently grabbed Twigleg's hand and brought it closer to his face. Inspecting the sand like substance, he just shook his head confirming that he had no idea. "I'm sorry, Twigleg...Look, why don't you just get some rest, it's been a long night, we'll all try and get a good grasp on everything in the morning."

Twigleg nodded and laid back down on the comfy bed, the professor got up and left the room, closing the door behind him as he did so. The manikin nuzzled the pillow it didn't take long for him to slowly drift to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

When Twigleg woke the next morning, his mind still heavy with sleep, he felt confused as to were he was. Then, slowly everything started to come back, well, not everything. Slowly sitting up, his tongue felt like a wad of cotton, and his vision was spinning horribly. Rubbing his eyes trying to get his vision straight, Twigleg slowly moved over so his feet was touching the ground. Smacking his dry lips, Twigleg slowly stood, his vision instantly spun and his boney knees knocked together, next thing he knew he was on the floor, face first with a mouth full of carpet. 

However, seconds later, the door was opened and someone helped him up. It didn't take long for Twigleg to recognize Ben, it was so odd for Twigleg to look at his friend from a downwards angle. It seemed to be the same way for Ben, as Ben looked up at Twigleg with wide eyes. For a moment both of them stood there in silence, neither of them having anything to say. Finally Ben reached up, standing on his toes he touched Twigleg's hair. 

"This is...beyond bizarre." Ben breathed out, he then let his hand rest on Twigleg's face and smiled, he then added, "Don't worry, we'll fix you back to normal." Ben breathed with a smile and moved his hand down and off of Twigleg. "C'mon, lets go see if the Professor has anything...Can you walk?" Ben asked when he realized that Twigleg's leg's were still knocking together. Swallowing a lump forming in his throat, Twigleg shook his head, clearly embarrassed by this fact. Ben grabbed one of Twigleg's arms and allowed his friend to lean on him. Within seconds they were walking, Twigleg's spindly legs giving out every once and a while. If it wasn't for Ben, he would of fallen more times than he liked. As they walked out of the room, Twigleg just had a feeling of pure helplessness, never before has he ever been so feeble that he couldn't do the simple task of walking. Stealing a glance at Ben. his friend seemed indifferent to everything, at least, he looked like it, who knows what he could be thinking.

They made it to the dinning room it didn't surprise Twigleg to see everyone sitting at the table, all of them looking at him. Each had their own emotion. Guinevere looked unsettled by this, messing with the end of her hair, even pulling a few strands out. Vita looked the most levelheaded out of the three of them, sitting there calmly her hands folded neatly on the table, and then, there was Barnabas. He didn't look angry, or upset, he just looked...confused of all things and it probably didn't help that it also looked like he hasn't gotten any sleep in the last twelve or so hours. Ben helped Twigleg sit in one of the four chairs around the table, once seated, Twigleg looked down at the chair so this was what it was like to sit in one of these things AND be able to see everyone. He watched as Ben placed his forearms on the table and waited for the professor to speak. It seemed like everyone else was as well as they all looked at him. There was a moment of silence from him, till finally, they all just got a shrug,

"I have nothing. Absolutely nothing. I've stayed up all night trying to think of different creatures that could of done this, in all of my research I've never heard something being able to turn a fabulous creature, human....Never..." 

There was an uneasy silence between everyone, Twigleg put his hand to his head, the nausea returning making him queasy. Finally, Ben snapped his fingers, an idea popping into his head, 

"What about Firedrake?" 

Everyone looked at him, even Twigleg. 

"What about Firedrake?" Guinevere asked as she stopped messing with her hair. 

"Well, couldn't Firedrake's fire fix Twigleg back to normal?" 

There was a bit of silence, then once again, Guinevere shook her head. 

"I'm not saying it couldn't, but, there is the off possibility that it'll turn Twigleg back into the creature he was made from, like Nettlebrand." 

Twigleg shuddered at the name of his old master, Ben went quiet and nodded, agreeing with Guinevere's statement. 

"Good point." 

"Couldn't we try looking outside for any clues?" Twigleg brought up, Vita shook her head. 

"We already did that this morning, we scoured the backyard with a fine tooth comb, all of us, there was nothing." 

 

"...That's it! Why didn't I think of it earlier!?" The professor boomed suddenly, causing almost everyone to jump. Looking excited Barnabas just smiled "The fairies! They must've seen everything!"

 

It was almost instantaneous when everyone slapped their foreheads for not even thinking about the fairies. 

Something flashed in Twigleg's mind, it was quick, a thought, something about a woman, maybe, but as soon as it came, it left. Leaving Twigleg sitting there confused. Seeing the confused look, Ben gently placed a hand on Twigleg's shoulder snapping him out of it, Ben then smiled. 

"Don't worry, we can talk to them tonight...."

Twigleg felt uneasy again, it wasn't nausea but something more, something like he was being watched. Looking over his shoulder, he frowned something really wasn't right...

 

\------------------------

"Hm, you think you're all sooo clever...Unfortunately for you all, I'm always one step a head..." The woman growled out, she turned around to face the one person standing behind her. With a smile, she waved her hand. "You know what you must do..." As all she said, the person could only nod, turn, and leave without saying a single word. She smiled as she leaned against her table, mimicking Ben's own position. 

"Oh, you guys will have a wonderful surprise waiting for you tonight..." She sighed softly, with a wave of her hand, the image before changed to a flying Lola in the sky, she smiled once more. "...Now, to talk to the rat..."

With a snap of her fingers, she was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

"Twigleg, tapping your fingers isn't going to make night come any faster." Ben said emotionless to Twigleg. Almost instantly, Twigleg stopped tapping his fingers boredly against the kitchen table and looked over at Ben. His young master reading a book while laying on the couch. Getting up from the table, Twigleg sauntered over, his legs no longer feeling like jelly, and tilted his head.  
  
"I haven't seen you read in awhile." Twigleg commented, Ben chuckled and laid the open book down on his chest and responded,  
  
"What's that suppose to mean? I read all the time at school."  
  
"It's just I've never seen you read at home." Twigleg leaned his forearms against the armrest of the couch and looked down at Ben, Ben just chuckled at this,  
  
"Well, you can thank school for that one."  
  
"What book is that anyway? I don't think I've read it." Twigleg asked tilting to his head to read the title.  
  
"It's 'Carrie' by Stephan King...What do you mean you've never read it? I know I've given you a copy." Ben asked, giving his friend a bewildered looked, Twigleg narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer to Ben's face.  
  
"Was it hardcover?" Twigleg asked.  
  
"Errr..." Ben's awkward chuckle gave it away. "At least now you can read hardcover books a bit more easily." Ben murmured keeping that awkward chuckle, Twigleg just narrowed his eyes again not finding it amusing. "....Sorry...." Was all Ben could say next, and Twigleg only sighed. There was a silence between the two of them, Ben then folded the corner page of his book and sat up on the couch when the professor and Vita walked into the living room.  
  
"So, me and Vita spoke for a bit about you Twigleg..." The professor said first, instantly Twigleg's heart started to race.  
  
'They're gonna kick me out...They don't want me now that I'm human sized...' Twigleg thought anxiously, swallowing hard, he waited for the professor to continue.  
  
"We think it's for the best..."  
  
'Here it comes.' Preparing for the worst he clenched his fist.  
  
"If we get you new clothes."  
  
"....Eh?" Was all Twigleg could say, not at all expecting that.  
  
"We need to get you new clothes, You can't go around outside...in that...Sorry but you can't. Plus we can get a good read on just how tall you are. I mean, my god, you're taller than me!" The professor laughed and Vita chuckled in response.  
  
Twigleg breathed a sigh of relief and then looked down at his clothing, tugging on the hem of his faded sleeve he frowned, was new clothing necessary? These clothes had suited him just fine for over three hundred years.  
  
"It won't be too bad Twigleg, besides, clothes shopping with them is inevitable, you can see where Guinevere gets it from." Ben teased, then with no warning something was flung at his head. Twigleg couldn't suppress his laugh as one of Guinevere's shoes landed on the floor, clearly the object that hit him.  
  
"Geez, Sorrel has nothing on your aim." Ben mumbled, rubbing his sore head as he turned to face his sister, Guinevere just smirked as she grabbed her shoe off of the ground and put it back on her foot.  
  
"I heard clothes shopping?" She said ignoring Ben's comment, Ben just gestured towards her silently reiterating what he had mentioned just moments ago. "Put your arms down or I swear I will take off my other shoe...." Was all Guinevere said, not even looking at Ben, instantly his hands were at his sides. This made the professor chuckle and shake his head .  
  
"Well, lets get going if we want to be back before the fairies make their nightly rounds." He said looking over the clock, Twigleg did as well and then tilted his head to the side.  
  
"It's only two in the afternoon, it shouldn't take that long." Twigleg mentioned pointed at the clock, Vita and Guinevere both giggled and Ben put his hand on Twigleg's shoulder.  
  
"...You have no idea."  
  
\---  
  
Twigleg learned some things at the mall today, one, malls were huge even when you yourself are big, two, after getting measured by a professional he found out he was close to 6"5, and the final thing he learned was, apparently his attire really was an eye catcher and not in a good way. He learned the last one when they were approached by a store clerk, the woman clearly chuckling when she asked if Twigleg wanted clothes from this century.  
  
"That's why we're here, I think this looks nice." Ben told him holding up a pair of jeans, it didn't take a genius to see that the jeans were clearly way to long for Ben.  
  
"Its a little big for you..." Twigleg told Ben and he was met with a smile.  
  
"But, it'll fit you perfectly."  
  
"I..." Twigleg looked around then whispered to Ben, "I never wore denim before..." he confessed, he jumped when he heard the store clerk suddenly burst out laughing, he realized she wasn't too far away from them, probably been watching them the whole time.  
  
All it took for that woman to shut up was to see the look on not just Ben's face but Guinevere's as well and she composed herself.  
  
"It's not gonna hurt you Twig, it's just cloth." Guinevere reassured him, about twelve shirts resting in her arms. Twigleg looked around for the professor and Vita, both of which seemed to just vanish.  
  
"Oh. Twigleg, I think this will look good on you." Ben said suddenly, pulling a stripped dark blue and black jacket with a hood on it off of the rack.  
  
"Yeah that's nice, I can see you wearing it Twigleg." Guinevere said admiring the jacket. "You have to try it on."  
  
With no warning, the jeans, jacket, and all the shirts Guinevere had in her arms, were all shoved into his arms and he was pushed towards the dressing stalls. Being shoved into one of the stalls and the door shut behind him, he heard Guinevere yell out.  
  
"Don't come out until you have those clothes on, we wanna see you."    
  
"Isn't this stealing?" Twigleg asked and Ben answered, clearly trying not to laugh,  
  
"No...Twig you're just trying them on, seeing if they fit. We aren't taking them."  
  
"Alright..."  
\---  
  
After modeling, something he never thought he would do, Twigleg had to admit, he quite liked modern day clothing, it was surprisingly comfortable. He also found out, that he would need multiple pairs of clothing, because it wasn't normal for someone to wear the same clothing everyday.  
  
"Wouldn't I still be wearing the same clothing though? Just in different patterns?" Twigleg asked and everyone nodded.  
  
"Yep, but, now you gotta clean your clothes once week, keep them clean and nobody really complains." Ben told him as they all walked towards another store, Barnabas and Vita finally with them, everyone had bags in their arms. However, before they reached their new destination, a voice cut them off.  
  
"Benny! My man!"  
  
Ben stopped walking and looked towards the voice. Everyone watched as a person with dark green hair jogged up to him. Him and Ben slapped hands together and formed a half hug before separating. Twigleg looked at this man, he looked to be older than Ben by a few years, nothing stood out about him, he even seemed to be shopping as well as a bag hanged from his wrist.  
  
"Atticus! What are you doing here?" Ben asked.  
  
"Oh, just shopping for some new clothes...by the looks of it you and your whole family are doing the same thing, like wow..." Atticus chuckled as he looked at all the shopping bags that everyone had. Twigleg smiled and for some reason looked over at the professor, much to his surprise the professor didn't exactly look happy, his eyes were narrowed and he generally just looked unpleasant. Instantly Atticus's eyes locked onto Twigleg and he laughed, it wasn't a laugh that meant good tidings either, it was jeering.  
  
"And who is this newest recruit in the family? Never seen him before." Atticus asked getting closer to Twigleg, Atticus's eyes then went wide. "Whoa, where did you get those contacts? They look real, like your eye color is actually red..." Atticus mentioned, making everyone just freeze.  
  
"Atticus, this is Tyler, my cousin, he's real big into anime and all that." Ben said quickly, Atticus just nodded and let out a soft 'Ohh.'  
  
"Ah, I should of seen it before, the matching hair and eye combo, nice on ya Tyler. Anyway, I need to go see you at school." With that Atticus turned and left, his bag swinging slightly off of his arm as he did so. A faint sound could be heard when he turned, like two objects clanging against one another by movement. Twigleg was quick to look around, thinking that maybe someone dropped something to the floor or accidently crashed into something, he found nothing but then just shrugged and looked over to the professor, he was surprised to see the professor with that same unpleasant look on his face.  
  
"I think we should go now." Was all the professor said, everyone nodded in agreement. Leaving the mall and piling into the car, Twigleg noticed the rather uncomfortable silence that followed the whole ride home. It felt odd, being out of the loop of whatever was wrong, but still something else was bugging him, looking out the window, he watched as the sun went down and frowned. Something wasn't adding up, talking to the fairies seemed a bit too easy...  
  
Looking out the window, Twigleg never realized how cramped this car was now that he was wedged against the window, Ben beside him, he looked down at his young master, Ben just looking out of Guinevere's window, Twigleg felt his heart suddenly beat in his chest and his stomach felt oddly light. He never felt this way before, feeling his face heat up, he quickly looked out the window, trying his best to hide his face from everyone. He had no idea what that was just then, but, he didn't want it to happen again, not now, not ever.  
  
\---  
  
"Oi! Put me down or I'll nip your nose!" Lola screeched at the woman holding her upside down by her tail. Wiggling left and right to be free, Lola tried her hardest to get the upper hand, but, it wasn't going to happen.  
  
"Now, Now, what's with all the hostility?" The woman asked, instantly, Lola almost stopped her wiggling and looked up at the woman. "I'm just here to help you....Won't you listen to me?"  
  
The woman smirked under her hood as the rat did more than just calm down, Lola perked her ears up as well. Gently placing Lola down on a nearby rock, where she stayed put, the woman spoke once more.  
  
"I need you to go to Firedrake, and tell him this...A little birdy says that Ben will be arriving here soon, give it a weeks time maybe two weeks. Is that clear?"  
  
Lola nodded slowly.  
  
"Good, now, go."  
  
Lola scurried into her plane, and within seconds she was off in the air, heading towards Firedrake and the other dragons. The woman kept her smile on her face.  
  
"Everything's just falling into place. Soon...very soon, I just hope that idiot of mine did the job correctly, fairies are a tricky lot...."


	6. Chapter 6

Twigleg looked around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, where were the fairies? It was well past the normal time they were suppose to be here, it wasn't like them to be late either.

"Still no sign of them?" Ben asked as he joined his friend outside.

"This isn't good..." Twigleg breathed out shaking his head. "...Fairies don't do this...They don't just...I feel like whoever or whatever turned me human did this." Twigleg confessed.

Ben said nothing, he just stood there narrowing his eyes, squinting off into the distance. They both stood there in silence, Twigleg glanced over towards Ben and swallowed a small lump in his throat before turning back to look outside.

"So...Uhh..." Twigleg started, making Ben turn and look at him, his head tilted a bit to the side, waiting for Twigleg to continue. Coughing, he tried to continue. "I..I couldn't he-help but to notice th..that...um..." Twigleg stuttered, silently cursing, he rubbed the back of his head, trying his hardest to continue, he never had problems speaking to Ben before, why now?

"Umm..."

"You Ok?" Ben asked, his eyes narrowed a bit at Twigleg's sudden lack of vocal skills.

"I-I'm fine...It's just that..Um...I noticed that...well..." Twigleg twiddled his thumbs awkwardly, he watched as Ben raised an eyebrow at this very questionable behavior. Thinking quickly, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "I noticed that the professor didn't seem to happy with your friend today." He said quickly and a bit loudly. Ben just snorted at this.

"Yeah...I would imagine so." Ben sighed out with a headshake, then, with no prompting, continued on speaking. "The professor doesn't like Atticus...Says Atticus is told old to be hanging around a sixteen year old." Ben shrugged.

"How old is he?"

"Twenty."

Twigleg blinked, confused, he just shook his head.

"That makes no sense, not that he's twenty, that the professor doesn't like him. I mean, Barnabas knows I'm over three hundred and he allows me to be with you."

"I guess its just different, I mean in all respects, you are still a homunculus and you risked your life to save me. Atticus...Atticus is just a stoner..." Ben chuckled, Twigleg tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"He's made of stone?" Twigleg asked clearly confused by Ben's remark. Ben's eyes widen and he just let out an awkward cough.

"I'll explain later..." He mumbled, now looking embarrassed. Ben moved his gaze to the clock on the wall and whistled out. "It's getting late. I should get to bed. I have school in the morning..." Ben said and Twigleg spoke,

"Young master? Am I to sleep on the couch tonight?" Twigleg asked and Ben just smiled.

"Nonsense, you can bed with me. It's no different than when you slept on me, besides my bed is big enough for two." Ben told him as he walked of towards his bedroom. Twigleg had to sit down at that. Looking outside once more, Twigleg frowned, still no fairies to be seen. Scanning the backyard for any sign of life, Twigleg swallowed a lump in his throat this was all becoming nerve wracking. Groaning out, he stood up, maybe he should just go in and go to bed-

He stopped when he heard the sound of a twig snapping not to far off. Seeing a glimpse of something in the woods, Twigleg narrowed his eyes and looked into the darkness of the woods. At first he thought maybe it was just an animal, that was until he heard a second twig snap off towards his left. Turning his head quickly, Twigleg caught a glimpse of someone running off out of the backyard and towards the street. Twigleg almost wanted to give chase, but stopped himself and backed up. Probably just some poor drunken person that gotten lost.

With a shrug, Twigleg decided to just give up for the night. Walking back inside, he shut the door behind him, looking up, Twigleg blinked when he saw the Professor sitting at the dinner table with Ben. Ben looked up and smiled at Twigleg.

"You won't believe this! Sit!" Ben demanded patting the seat next to him. Wasting no time, he did as he was told.

"What's going on?" Twigleg asked the professor, surprised to see Ben still up.

"Well, there's a new story about the dragon rider." The professor told him, Twigleg blinked and then at Ben, then back to the professor, Twigleg then asked,

"The one before Ben?"

A nod, then the professor continued.

"It's pretty big, in Ireland, they just found this old journal hidden in a cave. It took a while for them to translate it, but, they've cracked a few key words. From what the journal says, the dragon rider traveled with a vampire that may or may not be a half blooded one."

"A half blood? Those are beyond rare." Twigleg said without thinking, Ben turned and faced him.

"What does it mean to be a half blooded vampire?" Ben asked Twigleg, thought for a moment.

"If I remember correctly...It's like when two races get together, a human and a vampire have a baby."

"Whoa, I can see why it's rare, the idea of bedding with a blood sucker doesn't sound too nice." Ben admitted with a shudder. Twigleg couldn't help but chuckle, Ben, the lover of all fabulous creatures seemed to have a slight hatred for vampires, nice to know. Ben then stood.

"I could talk about this all night, but I have school, I'll be in bed if anyone needs me." Ben told them and then walked off. Twigleg chuckled again, after a bit of silence between him and the professor, Twigleg got up as well.

"Well, I guess I shoul-"

"Wait." The professor told him, instantly Twigleg sat back down and tilted his head.

"Yes?"

"I just have a question. Half bloods, do they age?"

That was a rather odd question, even Twigleg had to admit that, after a minute or two of thinking, he shook his head.

"No, they are half vampire, vampires don't age. I think I read something about half bloods turning after they hit puberty, so I guess that's when they 'die' or stop aging." Twigleg explained, and the professor nodded.

"Alright, that's all then. Good night." With no other words, the professor stood and waltzed towards his room. Twigleg just sat down, his eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. That was kinda weird. Still, with a shrug, he stood. The professor was a weird guy, who knows what goes on in his mind...  
\----------------------  
"That stupid journal! How did that rider keep it hidden from me! Ireland! I should of guessed! That journal will reveal me! There's nothing I can do! I've wasted all my energy on that stupid rat! And I sure as hell can't ask my assistant to do anything about it, he's dumber than a pile of rocks..." Breathing heavily, the woman stopped what she was doing and looked at a nearby mirror.

"I'm running out of time..." She mumbled to herself, pulling down her hood to look at herself in the mirror. Touching the cold glass, she shuddered to herself and flicked her hood back up. "...I have to...Hurry up, my energy is pretty much drained..." She panted and put her hand to her head. She then growled and slammed her hand down, but then smirked to herself.

"That stupid homunculus is falling for Ben as well, now that was something I didn't predict. I guess bigger body, bigger emotions...but, that's just something I can use to my advantage..."  
\----------------------

"What do you mean he's coming here!?" Sorrel yelled at Lola, the rat looking rather nervous by this, her whiskers twitching every which way.

"I don't know!" Lola squeaked at the brownie.

"What's with all the noise?" Firedrake asked, yawning heavily. Sorrel wasted no time running to her dragon friend.

"Lola is here, she said Ben's coming here soon! Tell me that's sound ridiculous!" Sorrel yelled to Firedrake, this woke the dragon up.

"Ben is coming here?"

"That's what Lola said!"

"Ben is coming?" Came another voice, they looked at Maia, waking from her own sleep, she lifted her head and sleepily looked at all of them.

"Why is he coming here? and How?" Firedrake questioned Lola, the rat stamped angrily.

"I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M HERE!" She roared.

"Clearly you're here to tell us Ben is coming, did Ben tell you this?" Sorrel asked, and Lola just shook her head violently.

"NO! Someone told me!"

"Twigleg?" Sorrel asked.

"NO!"

"The professor?"

"NO! IT WASN'T HIM! IT WAS...Was...I don't even know who told me. I can hardly even remember why I was told, I was just making my daily routes when next thing I know, I'm here telling you this! So clearly someone told me!" She seethed, her whole body shaking, Firedrake was sure if she wasn't wearing that suit her fur would be bristling.

"Lola, please calm down before you hurt yourself." Firedrake told her gently. He waited for her to calm down just enough to speak to her again. "Why don't we do this? Go to the professor's house and talk to Ben. It shouldn't take you too long to do that, right?" Firedrake asked.

Her whiskers still twitching, she huffed,

"Fine. I will." She turned and scurried off without another word. Sorrel just laughed.

"That rat, you can see how she's related to Rosa, they get so worked up they can't even think straight."

Firedrake wasn't laughing, he just lowered his head and narrowed his eyes at the ground.

"Hey, don't tell me you believe her?" Sorrel joked, Firedrake looked at her now and just sighed.

"You didn't hear the seriousness in her voice, I truly think she has no idea why she was here. Something isn't right. I...For some reason, I worry for Ben's safety now..." Firedrake confessed and then lowered his head once more before saying,

"I hope he's safe..."


	7. Chapter 7

Twigleg woke with a start, sitting up quickly he looked around frantically. He calmed down when he realized he was in Ben's bedroom, safe and sound. Turning his head, he saw that his young master was no where to be seen, most likely at school. Sighing heavily, Twigleg put his head down his hands, trying his best to wipe most of the sleepiness away from his eyes with his palms. He had a dream about something, he felt like whatever he dreamed about was important, but, it was gone from his mind. Swinging his legs over the bed, Twigleg stood up and walked out of the room. The house was quiet it was like this on most weekday's, Ben and Guinevere at school, the professor and Vita at work, leaving just little, now big, Twigleg alone.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Twigleg hummed softly, het let his mind wonder, it wondered straight to Ben, his eyes, his hair, his cute-

Slamming his hand down, he instantly stopped that train of thought. Feeling heat reach up into his face, Twigleg growled out and buried his face in his hands. What was WRONG with him as of late? He's never felt this way about Ben before and now...

Groaning, he simply smashed his face against the table in defeat. These thoughts made him feel terrible and he shouldn't be having them, but here he was, having them...

"It sucks."

Twigleg gasped and jumped up from his seat like it was on fire, he knew that voice, and it didn't belong here. He watched, scared, as Atticus stood there in the living room, clearly he was there the whole time. Atticus looked unamused, standing there in a oversized coat, and blue jeans.

"Get out." Was the first thing to leave Twigleg's mouth, knowing full well that Atticus wasn't allowed here. Atticus ignored him and reached into his big coat pocket, Twigleg grabbed a nearby candlestick holder, it wasn't exactly heavy but it should stun Atticus if the man decided to attack.

"Put it down. I'm just showing you something." Atticus said, Twigleg felt a frown tug at his lips, Atticus wasn't the same as before, his voice now serious and intimidating, Twigleg then narrowed his eyes as Atticus pulled out a rather old looking journal from his pocket.

"Look familiar?" Atticus questioned, Twigleg just shook his head and gripped the candlestick tighter, Atticus sighed and opened the book and started to read.

"He's a half blood...Half vampire, Half human a specimen of sin...What about now?"

Twigleg felt his heart quicken and he narrowed his eyes at this.

"How did you get that? That's in Ireland!"

"It doesn't belong to them." Atticus said simple, then, with no prompting, he started to walk closer to Twigleg book still in his hand. "It belongs to Ben." Atticus said once close enough. Twigleg growled deeply at this, Atticus however did not stop talking, "He's the dragon rider...I don't think he's any old dragon rider either..." Atticus looked down at this, Twigleg saw his opportunity and swung the candlestick, aiming for Atticus's head. However, Atticus was a lot quicker than Twigleg ever anticipated, grabbing the stick before Twigleg could strike him. Anger now flaring in his eyes, Atticus pushed Twigleg back into a wall with a yell.

Hitting the wall, Twigleg felt the wind get taken out of him and he gasped out. Seeing spots in his vision, he tried to get back up, but, Atticus put his foot down on his chest.

"I'm surprised you haven't guessed it yet..." Atticus paused and brought his fingers up to his mouth, there was a loud pop as he took out not one but two fake teeth. "That nosey professor guessed it right away." Atticus finished, dropping the fake teeth to the ground, reviling two very sharp pointy canine teeth. He then brought his hands up to his eyes and actually removed his blue eye colors. "Why do you think he doesn't like me? What? Was it my age? Ha!" Atticus hissed out, showing his red eyes to Twigleg.

"Y-You're a vampire!" Twigleg squeaked, his heart beating harder than ever before. He knew instantly what he needed, silver, or fire, and right now he didn't have any of that. Atticus scoffed at that.

"I'm not just any vampire! I'm this vampire! And I want my god damn rider back!" Atticus screamed, showing the book once more before tossing it against the wall, causing Twigleg to instinctively put his hands up above his head in case the book fell on him.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Twigleg breathed out slightly scared for not only himself but Ben. This didn't make Atticus any happier.

"Dammit! I don't have time to tell the story from the start! We don't have time period! I came here to help you! I know who did this too you and I know who she's going for next!" Atticus yelled. Twigleg felt his heart race even faster, deep down, he feared this.

"H-How-" Twigleg started but was cut off.

"Because she did the same thing to me! She said she'd bring him back! She just didn't tell me when! I've been alive for over three centuries!" Atticus yelled even louder if possible.

"Who?" Twigleg finally asked and Atticus's anger seem to reside for just a moment.

"...The witch. The one that made you the way you are." Atticus said, Twigleg's eyes widened, memory flooding back.

It was a witch, using the power of her voice to bend the will of those around her. She puffed some sort of powder in his face...She made him forget.

With no prompting, Atticus took his foot off of Twigleg's chest and then brought his hand down for him to take.

"She wants Ben." Was all Atticus said before Twigleg took the hand and pulled himself up.

"We have to stop her, where is she? I know she's around here." Twigleg growled out, the thought of Ben being in trouble angering him more.

"I don't know, she keeps hidden, and she does it well. I've searched for her for years." Atticus admitted, he looked down at his hands as he finished that last line before just shaking his head and standing tall.

"No, the best thing to do is we need to get Ben somewhere safe. Right now he's probably in school, so we'll go there first."

Twigleg raised an eyebrow at this and as Atticus started to put in his fake eye color and pop his fake teeth back in. Still, Atticus chuckled at this.

"Don't ever lose that naivety." Was all Atticus said as they headed out the door. Twigleg felt his heart plummet into his stomach as an icy fear gripped him tight as he remembered something he read years ago about half blooded vampires, people don't know that their own blood is basically just poison, they don't have the potency to turn humans into vampires like their full blooded counter parts.

The original dragon rider got horribly sick at one point, but was lucky enough to be healed by his dragon, if what Atticus said about being friends with the first dragon rider and possibly traveling around with him...

"C'mon! We have to go!" Atticus yelled from the driveway when he realized Twigleg hadn't moved. Swallowing down his fear, Twigleg started to walk, he narrowed his eyes.

Be it a vampire or witch, he wasn't letting anyone hurt Ben. Even if it's the last thing he ever does.


	8. Chapter 8

One awkward car ride to the school later, Twigleg and Atticus were making their ways up the steps when suddenly Atticus pulled him away from the doorway and cursed out.

"Dammit."

"What?" Twigleg asked, poking his head around to see the inside of the school, he soon saw what Atticus seemed to be afraid of. The professor and Vita were inside, talking to someone in a uniform, it was a little hard to see through the door but it looked like they were both worried about something, he was soon pulled away again.

"Ok, either Ben was finally caught for skipping too many classes, or, we're too late." Atticus told him. Twigleg gave him a look.

"Ben skips classes?" Twigleg asked, instantly he was met with a slap to the back of the head.

"Will you focus?" He hissed at Twigleg as Twigleg rubbed his sore head. Atticus peeked back over towards the Professor and Vita and hissed out darkly.

"No, I can't go in there, they will suspect me. Ben's father doesn't like me...At all...Ok...New plan. YOU go in there and talk to them." He demanded pushing Twigleg forward towards the doors.

"Me?! How do I explain why I'm here?" Twigleg asked loudly and Atticus groaned out.

"You're still a homunculus, big or small, you and Ben are connected, just say you had a feeling to be here." He explained like it was the simplest thing in the world, this raised more questions than answers.

"How do you know I'm a-"

"Just do what I asked!" Atticus hissed out angrily, and pushed Twigleg once more.

"You make Nettlebrand look nice." Twigleg grumbled under his breath before stepping through the doors. Sure enough the moment he step through, all attention was on him. Everyone aside from the man in the uniform looked confused by his entry.

"Tw-...Tyler. What are you doing here?" The professor asked, pausing briefly, Twigleg stood there, trying to find his voice.

"I...I had a feeling to come here...What's going on?" He asked taking his place next to the professor hoping nobody suspected his behavior.

"Is this one yours as well?" The man in the uniform asked pointing to Twigleg.

"Distant cousin, staying for a while." Vita made up on the spot, the officer nodded and then spoke directly to Twigleg.

"As I just finished telling these two. It seems that your cousin left school grounds today. Didn't tell anybody, didn't even take his stuff with him, the thing is, he left this taped to his locker door. I have no idea what I means do you?" The man asked, handing Twigleg a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, he read it, it looked like some sort of odd poem.

Being alone is fun

Followed along all my life

Help is just beyond my reach

Me. all alone, like normal.

Twigleg narrowed his eyes as read it.

"It looks like a suicide note." The man simply said

That made Twigleg's head snap up and glare at the man, then he shook his head and looked at the professor.

"No...No just no. I know Ben, he would never." Twigleg growled and looked over the note one last time. Something caught his eye on the paper. Bringing it up to the light he saw something that looked like it was erased off the corner of the paper engraved in the corner, it read simply.

First words.

Twigleg eyes widened when he read an even scarier message.

"Tw-Tyler? Everything right?" Vita asked noting his expression. Grinding his teeth, Twigleg brought the note down and then looked at all of them. He then looked back to the door way, now, it was his choice. Atticus, a half blooded angry vampire, or the people he's grown to love. Licking his lips, Twigleg closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry I thought I saw something. I was wrong." He lied and gave the note back to the officer. The Greenblooms looked even more worried.

"We have to find him." Barnabas said firmly before looking at Twigleg, he then gave Twigleg a wink. So he knew.

"I'll be back, I think I know a few places he may be." Twigleg said before slowly backing away. A nod from Barnabas. That's all he needed before he ran off towards the doors. Before he even took a step outside, he pulled to the side by Atticus.

"Well?!" Atticus growled.

"He left on his will, He knew he was being followed so he's probably hiding. Masked it as a fake suicide." Twigleg told him, jerking himself out of Atticus's grip.

"Smart. So like Zenith..."

"Zenith?"

"Doesn't matter. You know him more than me, where would he be?"

For once, Twigleg was actually at a lost. He had no idea where Ben goes after school or to hang out, Ben never took him anywhere. However, Atticus was a different story, Atticus was Ben's friend at school.

"You should know. After all you hang around him even when you're not suppose to." Twigleg said and Atticus blinked at this.

"The library...That's a start." Atticus mumbled before tapping Twigleg on the shoulder. "Lets go." He said racing off towards his car. Twigleg followed behind, however, before they got to the vehicle, he turned around. There the Professor was, on the steps of the school looking right at him. Twigleg paused before turning back around and following Atticus. Now, the professor knew something else. That Twigleg chose a half blood over family. Getting into the car, Twigleg looked over at Atticus, they took off in a hurry, his tires squealing.

"Stupid professor..." Atticus grumbled darkly as he drove. "Too nosey for his own good."

Twigleg bit down the feeling to yell at Atticus, the professor had every right to be nosey, especially now, with Ben missing and only a cryptic note to go on...

Still even with everything, Twigleg couldn't bite back the one question nagging at the back of his mind.

"How long...Have you been following us?"


	9. Chapter 9

"I don't know what you're talking about." Atticus mumbled.

"Yes you do. That's the only explanation on how you know I'm a homunculus." Twigleg stated crossing his arms.

Atticus seemed to grip the steering wheel tighter, he then reached scratched his nose.

"Ben is sixteen?...about five years..." Atticus said finally. "I was always the kind stranger on the street who would 'bump' into him and give him the time of the day, then, when he turned fifteen I made my move. Got enrolled in the same school, posed as a stoner loser, now I'm here." Atticus explained, he scratched his nose once again, and Twigleg narrowed his eyes.

"You owe me something else. You said Ben wasn't just a normal 'rider' and you even said his tactic was 'like Zenith.' What did you mean by that?"

Getting to a red stop light, Zenith slowed the car to a stop. He looked forward, he wasn't looking at the light, he seemed to be look through everything, like he was reliving a memory. The light turned green, but he didn't move the car. It wasn't until about ten seconds later when a car behind them honked, kicking him out of his day dream. Driving forward Atticus made it to the library parking lot and parked the car.

"Lets look for Ben." He said simply and got out, Twigleg was quick to reply,

"You can't ignore my questions forever."

"No but I can try, lets go." Atticus responded, jogging up to the library doors, Twigleg following behind.

Inside the library was nice and cool, they were greeted by a nearby librarian.

"Hello, Atticus, you just missed Benjamin." The woman said as she idly scanned a book from behind a counter.

"Did you see where he went?" Atticus asked, she shook her head.

"Nope...He came in, went to fantasy section and left without even checking anything out." She responded pointing over to the fantasy section Twigleg soon felt himself being dragged away from the lady and toward the section.

"You heard her, he didn't check anything out." Twigleg pointed out and Atticus just scoffed.

"Doesn't mean he didn't leave anything behind, he's a smart cookie."

"But this section is three aisles long!"

"Then look for anything out of the ordinary, I'll take the first and second aisles, you take the third one." Atticus told him, Twigleg didn't complain, he did as he was told and walked towards the third aisle, pacing up and down it, looking at the books on the left, then turning and looking at the books on the right, on the high shelves, and even getting down on his knees to look at the books on the lower shelves, but, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

That was until he turned to leave, a certain book caught his eye. Turning back around, he looked at the book, it was out of place where as all of these where nearing the end of the alphabet when it came to authors, this book's author started with A. It shouldn't be here, grabbing it and pulling it off the shelf, he turned to look at the cover. Sure enough, there was a piece of paper sloppily taped to it. Looking at the paper all it said was simply,

Page 53

Frowning at this, Twigleg opened the book, turning the pages to the page instructed on the paper, once on page fifty-three, he almost dropped the book in fear.

"A...Atticus!" He yelled, ignoring all the people telling him to hush. Atticus came rushing from the second aisle, meeting up with Twigleg and looking over Twigleg's shoulder at the book, Atticus put his hand to his mouth.

The page was completely destroyed it was borderline ripped out, but that wasn't what scared him, it was the big black letters engraved into the page,

SHE'S

BEHIND

ME

"This isn't good...She's toying with him, making him paranoid...It's making him run all over the place...Making us run all over the place trying to find him. Damn witch..." Atticus breathed out, Grabbing the book from Twigleg's hands, Atticus narrowed his eyes and shut the book, tearing the paper off of the cover, he let out a soft chuckle and showed the cover to Twigleg.

"The blue ocean?" Twigleg asked when he read the title and Atticus smiled.

"That's probably where he headed to next."

"There's no ocean's around here." Twigleg pointed out and Atticus just kept that smile on his face.

"No, but there's a pool, close enough I'd say." Atticus shrugged and put the book back where he found it. "Lets go." He said and started towards the door Twigleg right behind him.

"What if that's not where he's going?" Twigleg asked when they walked out.

"Then he's somewhere else. Look there are lots of places he could be, but, we have to think positive ok? Trust me, negative thoughts have negative effects."

"But what if we're too late." Twigleg asked, this caused Atticus to stop walking and look down at the ground, there was a pause on Atticus's end as he seem to be thinking, then finally, Atticus spoke,

"If we are, then I'll suck up my pride and go to the nosey professor for help..."  
\-----------  
"I have to admit, getting my hands on you wasn't exactly easy." She smirked as she leaned into Ben's face, the rider tired to a chair, his nose bleeding, blood slowly dripping down his face. She let out a bitter hmph and turned away from Ben.

"You won't get away with this." Ben said finally, making her turn back to him, she sneered at him.

"And what makes you think that?" She asked.

"Because dragons don't like it when their riders are threatened or harmed." Ben told her, looking right into her eyes. She just scoffed once again.

"Your dragon is off in the mountains, he won't know if your harmed or not." She stated plainly.

"You're wrong..."

"Whatever."

The door to the lair opened, without even turning around, she spoke.

"You're late! I had to go and get the rider myself because of your foolishness!"

"I apologize."

"Moron! Here, I'll give you the simplest job imaginable, though knowing you, you'd mess it up somehow. Just watch the rider while I prepare the potion."

"Of course, Celeste."

Ben looked up at Celeste's assistant, he said nothing as he sat down on a nearby table and just watched Ben. Neither of them spoke, Ben felt an odd spark as he looked into the assistant's eyes, they were just a normal brown color, but, there was something there, he just didn't know what. The assistant leaned in and just started, it got to the point where Ben felt madly uncomfortable and just looked away. Ben clenched his fist, right now his only hope were those messages he left and his family's smarts...


	10. Chapter 10

_Cold, it has been for the last month or so. Living on the streets wasn't getting any easier, not that it's been easy before, still you think over twenty years of this he would be use to these harsh winter nights. Shuddering, he could see his breath hang in the air as he puffed out another shaky breath. He really wished he had some wool to wear. Sitting down on the cold cobble step, he looked around for his next meal, he soon found it, a rat. Quickly he snatched the creature up, knowing it's fate, the rat let out squeaks of desperation, he could only sigh._

_"If it's any consolation, I really don't want to eat you, I've gotten the black death three times already, but, I don't eat people. So you have to do. Don't worry. It won't hurt, it's like going to sleep." He told the small rodent, then opening his mouth, he bit down on the animal's neck and started to suck the blood out of it. The rat didn't struggle, it just slowly shut it's eyes until finally it was no more. Once he had his fill, he slowly put the animal down on the street and spat out several rat hairs. He shuddered once more, but not because of the cold, this time it was because of the aftertaste of rat blood, it always tasted horrible._

_"A meal fit for a king..." A voice sounded from behind him. He stood and turned towards the voice, hissing darkly at the stranger standing in front of him. This stranger was a male couldn't be older than twenty, dirty blonde hair, tan skin, a long black cloak covering him keeping him warm in these harsh nights. The stranger paid no mind to the vampire in front of him as he took a step closer, peering at the vampire's 'home'. It was really just an alleyway that the vampire had claimed his own, keeping away from his human counterparts. Once again, he hissed at the stranger._

_"Oh stop that, you pose no threat to me. You're a half blood, I can see it in your eyes." The stranger told him, earning a blink of confusion from him._

_"How can you tell?" He asked, he was met with a chuckle._

_"Everyone knows vampires have cat like pupils, only half bloods have normal pupils." The stranger answered. There was a silence between the two, the half blood didn't stand down, he just sized the stranger up, debating if he could take on a man of his age or not, after a moment, he soon realized just who he was looking at._

_"Wait, you're the dragon rider!" He gasped out and backed up, many stories circled around the rider, how he had managed to befriend a dragon, how he taken on many other giant creatures and won. There was no way he could take on someone of his caliber._

_"I see my reputation proceeds me. Oh would you please relax? I'm not going to take on someone who's only fourteen. Well, someone who looks fourteen anyway. Besides, I know from experience, half bloods are pretty weak." The rider said, he then sat down on the cobble stones and patted the ground next to him._

_"Sit. I only wish to talk, look, I didn't even bring the dragon." He told him, hesitating a bit, the vampire slowly sat next to the man. Once seated, the rider wasted no time in talking. "I know of you, rather infamous for killing the local cats and dogs, but, you are the only vampire I know of that refuses to eat humans..." The rider started, crossing his legs, the vampire said nothing to this as the rider continued._

_"Nonetheless, the king and queen still wish for your death, saying you a vampire and that you have no right here. I have told them I would follow you and see if you're worth killing."_

_The vampire held his breath, if he had any color in his face he would of turned pale as well, seeing this reaction, the rider leaned back and just shook his head._

_"You aren't. You are, in all uses of the word, harmless. I've told them this, they weren't convinced, so, I've decided on something better." The rider told him, turning to face the vampire._

_"...Exile?" The vampire asked and the rider something._

_"Well, no, to prove my point to the king and queen...How would you like to travel with me? With the dragon of course."_

_That question was so sudden the vampire felt his head spin in confusion._

_"I-I don't even know your name! Why would you want to travel with a vampire?!" The vampire asked, standing from the cold street, he fidgeted with his fingers, and was met with that familiar chuckle._

_"I told you why I wish for you to travel with me, plus if it helps, I wouldn't mind having another companion, I love Kuriana's company, but some sort of human company would be preferred." He told the vampire, this earned a look of confusion from the half-blood._

_"Kuriana?"_

_"The dragon. She named herself, oh, and my name is Zenith. You are?" He asked, bringing his out for the half-blood to shake, the half-blood paused before he took the riders hand in his own to shake._

"ATTICUS!"

Atticus snapped out of memory and turned to Twigleg, the homunculus had his seat belt on, he also had it twisted in his hands and was biting down on the fabric, clearly in fear.

"What?" Atticus asked, Twigleg didn't relax he just glared at the vampire.

"What?! WHAT?! YOU RAN THREE STOP SIGNS BACK THERE! WE ALMOST CRASHED TWICE! AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE IN ONE PEICE WHEN I FIND BEN!" Twigleg roared out, his squeaky voice making it rather amusing to the vampire.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Atticus shrugged.

Twigleg just huffed in response to that and turned his head away. After a couple minutes of silence between the two, Twigleg finally spoke without yelling.

"So, I take it Atticus is a cover name?"

Atticus just groaned out, back with the questions it seemed.

"How could you possibly know that?" Atticus asked.

"You said it yourself, you've been around for centuries now. I figured you changed your name at one point."

"...Yeah, I did, but I'm not telling you my real name, lets just drop it." Atticus told him simply.

"Fine, Fine...Why Atticus? Of all the names you chose Atticus, it's a rather rare name."

"...I changed my name in the sixties, there was some famous book that came out around them, changed my name to the character's name."

"Wait, you changed name to Atticus...Finch?"

"Oh you've read the book too? Anyways, no, I kept my same last name...Noel. I just felt that my first name needed to change." He told Twigleg, there was another silence between the two, Twigleg spoke again.

"Surely you're first name couldn't off been that bad."

"Drop it. I don't want to talk about that, I don't want to talk about my past. Period. End of story. You bring it up again, I will bite you." Atticus warned, Twigleg saw him gripping the steering wheel tight, his knuckles turning white from it. Not liking the idea of being bit, Twigleg did as Atticus asked. They drove in silence, finally after what seemed like forever, the pool was in eyesight, however, Atticus didn't even get halfway there when he stopped the car on the side of the rode.

"What? Why did we stop?" Twigleg asked, Atticus undid his seatbelt and got out of the car, following the half blood's lead, Twigleg did the same, however he didn't walk to far from his door when he saw what Atticus was looking at. A familiar blue hoodie laying on the ground. Atticus picked it off the ground and sighed.

"We're too late, dammit..." Atticus growled holding the hoodie in his hands. Twigleg felt more than worry build up inside him, he felt anxious and sad as well. He tried to stop the sob swelling up, but he just couldn't. Putting his hands to his mouth, Twigleg slowly sat down on the damp grass and put his knees to his chest.

"What are we going to do now?" He asked Atticus, there was another silence, Atticus seemed to be thinking, till finally he could only say one thing.

"We...We go to the professor...That's the last thing I can think off." Atticus told him, nodding ever so silently, Twigleg could see him visibly swallow down his pride as he did so. Twigleg didn't want to move at first, truthfully, it was getting to the point that he just wanted to curl into a ball, however, his young master was in danger, now was not the time to give up. Shakily standing, Twigleg nodded and said,

"Then, let's not waste anytime."

* * *

"Why are you doing this?" Ben asked, breaking the silence between him and Celeste's assistant, he just got a sneer in response, followed by a harsh,

"I have my reasons."

"She's evil, and she treats you like you're dirt." Ben told him, he just got a scoff this time. Slowly leaning his body to look behind the assistant, he could see Celeste, back turned, working on some sort of potion...or Poison...

Ben suddenly cried out when his hair was harshly grabbed from the back and he was forced to look up at the assistant again.

"Hey dumbass! Don't you damage my vessel!" Celeste yelled out from her cauldron.

"Just looking, guy's a wimp anyway." He said letting go of Ben's hair.

"Wimp, huh? I'd rather be a wimp than a dumbass." Ben spat at him, it didn't even phase the assistant, he just sat down on a nearby table and looked at Ben.

"So, you're the dragon rider? I guess just anyone can be rider's these days." The assistant said, Ben felt a bit of anger flare up, he knew this guy was toying with him, but that didn't stop his anger any less.

"...Shove off." Ben growled, another scoff.

"So scary. What are you going to do next? Ask me to kindly go away?"

Ben let out a bitter snort, but didn't want to press any farther, he just wanted to get out of here. Struggling did nothing as the ropes did nothing more than dig into his arms and turn his skin raw.

"...It's done..." Celeste said finally, making everyone look at her. She walked up to Ben, a vial in her hand. Inside it was a dark purple liquid that honestly just looked like grape juice, but it smelt of sulfur. "Now, Dumbass, this is were you come in, open his mouth." Celeste demanded. Ben kept his mouth clamped shut and turned his head violently from side to side. No way in hell was he going to drink that.

"Hold still." Celeste growled darkly, Ben felt his head slowly down as her words twisted in his mind, but he quickly broke free of whatever it was and kept shaking his head vigorously. "Dumbass! I said help what the hell are you doing!?" Celeste yelled, Ben didn't stop to see what the assistant was doing, he didn't care if he got a whiplash by doing this, he just kept banging and shaking his head.

"I SAID HOLD STILL!" Celeste screamed at him, all at once he stopped in mid shake as he felt a powerful hold grab him and force him still. Celeste used this to her advantage and grabbed his jaw with her for finger and thumb and forced his mouth open.

"Now. Your body will be mine..." She said.

' _Stop!'_  His mind screamed but he had no control over his body, it was as if he was a puppet to her now. She started to tip the vial, the liquid got closer and closer to entering his mouth, but, before she could pour it out, her body suddenly gave a jolt forward and she dropped the vial, spilling the liquid all over Ben. He didn't care if it was on him, just as long as he didn't have to drink it. He felt free from whatever held him and looked at her.

Her whole body was ridged, she seemed to be shaking horribly though, then, she slowly turned around and Ben got the shock of his life when he saw the knife sticking out of her back. Blood starting to pool around the wound. Looking just passed her, he saw her assistant standing there, clearly the one who did it.

"How dare you..." She squeak out.

"Go to hell." He snapped at her, before taking out a second knife and stabbing her right in the throat. Ben couldn't watch, he forced himself to turn away. He listened to her gurgle for a second before dropping down on the floor, he could only assume she shook there for a second, choking on her own blood and the knife before she went limp. Swallowing hard, Ben looked back the assistant, not daring to look down at the corpse now laying there.

"...Thank you..." was all Ben could say, the assistant just smirked, and then with no warning got right into Ben's face, only centimeters away from the boy. He then smiled at Ben, showing his yellow crooked teeth.

"Oh...I'm not done with you...not by a long shot...we're going to have a lot of fun, you and I."

Ben let out a sob of fear, and the assistant just kept that sick smile on his face.

"Cheer up, Dragon rider, because guess what. You're taking me to the rim of heaven..." The assistant then finally backed away and pulled out a cloth from his pocket, before Ben could even react, the cloth was shoved in his mouth and the assistant grabbed a nearby roll of duct tape, pulling at it, he smiled again and tapped Ben's mouth shut before finishing his sentence,

"Whether you want to or not."


End file.
